Improvement in horse hay-forks



C. N. CULVER;

Horse Hag/Forkl No. 55,246. Patentedlune. 5, 1866,

f 75M y www' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

o. N. oULvEn,jo r' BOWLING GREEN, o'HIo'.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-FORKS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,246, dated June5,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, C. N. (JULVER, of Bowling Green, in the county ofWood and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Iminovements in Hay-Forks; and I do hereby declare that the following isafull and complete description of the construction and operation of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ofthis specitication, in which- Figure l represents the fork and itsconnections. Figs. 2 and 3 are detached sections.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the views.

My iml'irovement relates to hay-forks constructed and operating ashereinafter described.

A A, Fig. l, is a pair ofcurved metallic forks. Each fork consists oftwo prongs, as shown in Fig. 3, curved outward from each other in thedesired manner. The prongs are attached to shanks B B, that are pivotedtogether by a pin at C. This connection forms ajoint allowingthe forksto open and close.

I) is a head-block, to which the forks are connected by chains E E,attached to the forks and the sides of the head-block. The block iswood,and in the lower part ot' it, in a slot, F, is pivoted a hook, G.(Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.)

H is a lever, pivoted at one end to the block, and the other end passesthrough a staple, c,

` and extends beyond the side of the block. On

one side of the block is pivoted, at c, a rightangled lever, I, as seenin Fig. 2, one end of which extends under the lever H, and to the otherend is attached a cord, T.

Above the block is a pulley, J, the bearings J of which extend down, areformed into one piece that is attached to the top ot' the block, so thatthe pulley can be turned-round, or the loaded fork to adapt itself toany position required in elevating the hay. Around the upper part of thehead-block is a metal plate or rim, k, through which the lower end ofthe bearings J passes.

L M are pulleys similar to the pulley J, suspended by means ofl hooks mattached to the top of the bearings m', in the position represented. Nis a rope, attached at one end to a ring or collar, c', on the lower endof the bearings J', from which it extends up over the pulley L, downunder the pulley J, and up over the pulley M, and to this end the poweris applied in elevating the hay.

In the upper ends of each of the forks are links p, that are inserted ina ring, a. This .hay drop down into the bay.

ring is placed upon the hook G, which is adjusted up under the leverHforholding the forks in the position for elevating the load.

The manner in which this fork as constructed and arranged operates is asfollows: The forks A A are extended or spread apart,as indicated by thedotted lines in Fig. l, when the 'links 19 are extended in a horizontalposition. The forks are now inserted or forced into the hay, when thehead D is brought down and the ring a placed on the hook G, which isthen turned up and adjusted under the lever H, that holds it securely.The power is then applied to the lower or free end of the rope N, which,as the rope is drawn over the pulleys,raises the head D and itsconnections, elevating the fork.

When the forks are tirst drawn upward the weight of hay in theforksforces or draws the forks nearer together in the hay until the chains EE are straight, which then supports the load. When the hay is raisedover the bay, or place where it is to bedelivered, it is discharged bypulling` the cord T, that raises the lever H, disengaging the hook G,when the ring et slides olf and the weight of hay in the forks ycausesthem to spread, letting` the The fork is then lowered to receive anotherload, as before described. y

lt is desirable to have the hay to be elevated under the fork, and thepulley L to be over across the hay, for when the fork is raised it iscarried in an inclined direction toward the pulley L, and can bedischarged at any point between the load and pulley L. If the fork wereraised in a vertical direction, it would have to be carried or swung`horizontally over the hay and held there by hand till the load wasdischarged; but with this arrangement the loaded fork is brought intothe right position at the same time that it is elevated, with no morelabor or inconvenience, and. can be distributed throngh all parts ot'the bay, as the load can be discharged at any place between the load andpulley L, and the pulley can be suspended in diferent parts of the hay.

/Vhat I claim as my improvement, and dcsire to secure by LettersBatent,is

The arrangement of the levers H and I, in combination with the hooks G,ring a, links p, and forks A A, operating in the manner and by the meanssubstantially as described.

Witnesses: C. N. OULVER.

W. H. BURRIDGE, A. W. MCGLELLAND.

